Tufting machine

ABSTRACT

A tufting machine of novel structure which can produce a pile fabric mixing both a cut pile and a loop pile through a simple arrangement. Means for displacing a finger plate in the piercing direction of a needle through a foundation are provided so that the capturing state of a loop formed on the surface of the foundation by a looper can be released by displacing the finger plate to the surface side of the foundation. A loop captured by the loop is cut into a cut pile by means of a knife, and the released loop is not cut but becomes a loop pile.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention pertains generally to a tufting machine for use in manufacturing pile fabric such as carpeting; and relates in particular to a tufting machine adapted to produce a pile fabric which is a mixture of cut pile and loop pile.

BACKGROUND ART

In fields such as carpeting for example the use of pile fabrics has been known for some time; such pile fabrics have a multitude of pile fibers formed in a foundation in order to provide enhanced tactile qualities and texture. The pile forming such pile fabric is broadly classified into either of two types, loop pile of looped form lacking cut ends, and cut pile of cord form having cut ends.

Tufting machines are widely employed in the manufacture of such pile fabrics. Where a tufting machine is one designed to produce loop pile for example, a needle threaded with a pile yarn is punched through the foundation whereupon the pile yarn is captured by a looper oriented with its distal end facing in the same direction as the direction of feed of the foundation, then the needle is pulled out from the foundation to produce loop pile. On the other hand, in the case of one designed to produce cut pile, the pile yarn is captured by a looper that, conversely to the loop pile process, is oriented with its distal end facing in the opposite direction from the foundation feed direction, and after forming a loop the loop is cut by a knife while held captured by the looper to produce cut pile.

In this way, the orientation of the looper in the case of loop pile is the opposite of that in the case of cut pile, and a resultant problem was that a single given tufting machine could be used to form only one type of pile or the other. Thus, producing different types of pile with a single machine required measures such as swapping the looper.

To address such problems, the inventors previously proposed in Patent Citation 1 (Japanese Utility Model Application 62-70197) a tufting machine furnished with both a looper for loop pile and a looper for cut pile, and adapted to selectively use these two loopers. By so doing, it was possible to produce the two kinds of pile, i.e. both loop pile and cut pile, to with a single tufting machine, as well as to avoid the time and effort of replacing the looper, so that manufacturing efficiency could be improved as well.

In this way, the tufting machine disclosed in Patent Citation 1 made it possible to manufacture both loop pile and cut pile with a single tufting machine, as well as to better improve manufacturing efficiency; however, the tufting machine disclosed in Patent Citation 1 still had room for additional improvement.

Specifically, the tufting machine disclosed in Patent Citation 1 is equipped with two kinds of looper, one for loop pile and one for cut pile, and moreover requires an actuating mechanism for actuating each looper, so its construction was rather complex. Additionally, while with this tufting machine it is possible to selectively manufacture pile fabric having either loop pile or cut pile, it was not possible to manufacture pile fabric which is a mixture of loop pile and cut pile.

Patent Citation 1: Japanese Utility Model Application No. JP-U-62-70197

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

With the foregoing in view, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tufting machine of novel construction having a simple design and adapted to manufacture pile fabric which is a mixture of loop pile and cut pile.

The above objects of this invention may be attained according to at least one of the following modes of the invention. The following elements employed in each mode of the invention may be adopted at any possible optional combinations.

Specifically, a first mode of the present invention provides a tufting machine in which a foundation fed in one direction by reel-out rollers is supported from a front side by a finger plate while a needle threaded with a pile yarn is punched through a foundation from an back side so that the pile yarn is punched through the foundation; using a looper whose free end faces opposite the feed direction of the foundation and adapted to undergo oscillating displacement alternately closer to and further away from the needle, the pile which has been punched through the foundation is captured to form a loop; and the loop which has been captured by the looper is then cut by a knife adapted to undergo relative displacement with respect to the looper, the tufting machine being characterized in that: the machine comprises displacing means for displacing the finger plate in a piercing direction of the needle through the foundation; and the loop is releaseable from the captured state by the looper as the finger plate undergoes displacement by the displacing means to allow displacement thereof towards the front side of the foundation.

In the tufting machine constructed according to the present mode, through displacement by the displacing means the foundation plate is displaced towards the front side of the foundation which is also the piercing direction of the needle, thereby releasing or lessening support to the foundation at its front side by the finger plate to allow displacement towards the front side of the foundation. It is possible thereby to relax the tension of pile yarn that has been captured by the looper on the front side of the foundation to form a loop, so that the loop can be released from the captured state by the looper in association with phase action such as displacement of the looper. The loop having been released from the captured state by the looper will not be cut by the knife and will form a tuft of loop pile shape in the foundation. On the other hand, if the finger plate has not undergone displacement, in the same mariner as in a conventional cut pile machine, the pile yarn in a state of applied tension will be captured by the looper and maintained in the captured state by the looper. The loop captured by the looper will ultimately be cut by the knife to form a tuft of cut pile shape in the foundation.

Thus, in the tufting machine constructed according to the present mode, through displacement of the position of the finger plate by the displacing means it is possible to selectively form loop pile or cut pile, without the time and effort of having to swap out the cut pile looper or the loop pile looper as was required in the past. Moreover, by eliminating the need to swap the looper, cut pile and loop pile can be formed selectively without interrupting feed of the foundation by the reel-out rollers, making it possible for a pile fabric that is a mixture of loop pile and cut pile to be manufactured with excellent processing accuracy and production efficiency.

Any number of various possible modes may be adopted for the mixture of loop pile and cut pile, for example, a mixture divided into distinct loop pile regions and cut pile regions, or a random mixture. For example, through appropriate adjustment of parameters such as the foundation extension force, the extent of displacement of the finger plate, the level of tension exerted on the pile yarn by the looper, and the displacement direction of the looper, it is possible to selectively produce conditions under which only loop pile will form, or conditions under which only cut pile will form, or conditions under which both loop pile and cut pile will form in irregular fashion.

Further, in the tufting machine constructed according to the present mode, it is possible for constructions other than that of the displacing means for displacing the finger plate to be realized using constructions comparable to those of a conventional known pile machine. Accordingly, a tufting machine capable of manufacturing a pile fabric that is a mixture of loop pile and cut pile can be realized through a simple arrangement. Moreover, it will be possible to obtain such a tufting machine able to manufacture loop pile/cut pile mixed pile fabric by making slight modifications to a pile machine used conventionally.

Constructions of various types may be favorably adopted as the specific construction for the displacing means in the present mode. For example, there may be employed a mode in which the finger plate is displaceably supported by a cylinder mechanism or a servo motor, or is displaceable using a rack and pinion mechanism. Additionally, it is not essential for the piercing direction of the needle through the foundation, which is also the direction of displacement of the finger plate, to lie parallel to the oscillation direction of the needle, and could be any direction of movement of the finger plate away from the front side of the foundation. In preferred practice, the loop tufting process will be carried out with the surface of the foundation oriented vertically downward, in which case the finger plate will support the foundation from the lower side. By designing the finger plate to undergo displacement vertically or diagonally downward, displacement can take place such that the foundation sags downward under the action of gravity.

A second mode of the present invention features the tufting machine according to the first mode wherein the displacing means comprises a rotational mechanism enabling oscillating rotational displacement of the finger plate about a rotation axis extending in the width direction at the front side of the foundation, and a rotation amount adjustment mechanism adapted to adjust the amount of oscillating rotational displacement of the finger plate by the rotational mechanism. More specifically, as a third mode of the present invention, a mode wherein, for example, the rotational mechanism comprises a hinge mechanism and the rotation amount adjustment mechanism comprises a cylinder mechanism may be favorably employed as one second mode.

By so doing, the displacing means can be devised through a simple arrangement. Here, a known cylinder mechanism such as an air cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder may be favorably employed as the cylinder mechanism in the third mode. The rotation amount adjustment mechanism in the second mode is not limited to a cylinder mechanism as in the third mode, and a servo motor could be used instead for example.

A fourth mode of the present invention features the tufting machine according to any of the first to third modes wherein the finger plate is split in a width direction of the foundation, with the split finger plates being individually furnished with the displacing means so that the individual finger plates independently undergo displacement in the piercing direction of the needle.

In the tufting machine constructed according to this mode, a plurality of finger plates independently undergo displacement in the width direction of the foundation, so that not only can loop pile and cut pile be mixed in the feed direction of the foundation, but loop pile and cut pile can also be mixed in the width direction orthogonal to the feed direction. It is possible thereby to form alternating stripes of loop pile and cut pile across the width of the foundation; and additionally to control displacement of the individual finger plates with a higher degree of accuracy, making it possible to form a continuous pattern of cut pile and loop pile in the diagonal direction of the foundation, so that it is possible to produce more complex and variegated patterns as well.

Specifically, because displacement of the individual finger plates towards the direction away from the foundation can be set in mutually independent fashion, it is possible for example to form cut pile only in specific areas while forming loop pile only in other specific areas, or to form an irregular mixture of cut pile and loop pile in specific areas, as well as to vary the relative proportions of cut pile and loop pile in these areas of irregular mixture of cut pile and loop pile. It is moreover possible for these various settings to be made independently not only in the feed direction but also the width direction of the foundation, doing so in segmented areas corresponding in number to the split finger plates.

Moreover, when opting to split the finger plate in the width direction of the foundation, it will also be possible for example to adopt a split construction for the looper as well, by dividing it into segments corresponding to the split finger plates. By so doing it will be possible for conditions such as tension exerted on the loop by the looper to be set individually for each of the split finger plates, making it possible to selectively form cut pile and loop pile as described above with a higher degree of accuracy.

A fifth mode of the present invention features the tufting machine according to any of the first to fourth modes further comprising a yarn delivery apparatus that includes a plurality of rolls rotated at mutually different speeds, idle wheel units provided as a pair with the rolls and including an idle wheel adapted to alternately contact and separate from the roll while reeling out the pile yarn between the roll and the unit, and a control unit adapted to alternately move the idle wheel units closer to and away from the rolls.

In the tufting machine constructed according to this mode, the idle wheel of an idle wheel unit that has been moved closer [to a roll] by the control unit will retain the pile yarn between itself and the opposing roll, so that the pile yarn can be fed out at a speed corresponding to the rotation speed of each roll. The feed rate of the pile yarn can then be adjusted by adjusting the tension of the pile yarn.

Consequently, even in the case where, for example, the finger plate has undergone displacement in the piercing direction of the needle so that tension of the pile yarn has been relaxed, the yarn can be maintained in the looper-captured state by reducing the feed rate of the pile yarn to maintain tension, so that cut pile can be formed. On the other hand, where the finger plate is to undergo displacement, the feed rate can be increased to relax the tension of the pile yarn allowing it to be more easily released from the looper-captured state so that loop pile can be formed. In this way, according to the present mode it is possible to selectively form loop pile and cut pile with an even higher level of accuracy through adjustment of the feed rate of the pile yarn to the needle. At the same time, because the feed rate of pile yarn to individual needles can be adjusted independently, it will be possible to produce more complicated patterns, or to more easily manufacture a pile fabric which is a random mixture of cut pile and loop pile.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 A schematic view of a tufting machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 A view showing a tufting mechanism and a yarn feed mechanism of the tufting machine.

FIG. 3 A view showing an idle wheel unit used in the yarn feed mechanism of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 A view showing a pile mechanism of the tufting machine depicted in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 A view showing an operating mode of the tufting machine.

FIG. 6 A view showing finger plates and displacing means in another embodiment.

KEY TO SYMBOLS

-   10 tufting machine -   12 foundation -   14 pile yarn -   30 needle -   84 looper -   96 knife -   98 finger plate -   106 hinge -   108 air cylinder -   109 electromagnetic valve -   110 finger

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

In order to provide a more specific understanding of the present invention, the embodiments of the invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, FIG. 1 shows a simplified depiction of a tufting machine 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The tufting machine 10 in the section thereof lying to the upper side of a foundation 12 which has been stretched in the approximately horizontal direction includes a tufting mechanism 16 for tufting a pile yarn 14 into the foundation 12, and a yarn feed mechanism 17 provided as a yarn delivery apparatus for delivering yarn to the tufting mechanism 16; and in the section thereof to the lower side of the foundation 12 includes a pile mechanism 18 for forming the pile. Unless indicated otherwise, the vertical direction herein refers to the vertical direction in FIG. 1.

Turning to a more detailed discussion, to either side of the pile mechanism 18 in the horizontal direction there are rotatably disposed a pair of spike rollers 20, 22; a feed roller 24 is disposed to the lower side of one of spike roller 20 while a let-off roller 26 is disposed to the upper side of the other spike roller 22, with these rollers 20, 22, 24, 26 constituting the reel-out rollers. Additionally, a foundation stand 28 onto which of the foundation 12 has been wound in roll form is rotatably disposed to the lower side of the feed roller 24. The rollers 20, 22, 24, 26 and the foundation stand 28 have axial lengthwise dimensions the same as or somewhat greater than the width dimension of the foundation 12, and are disposed parallel to one another with their axes facing in the same direction (in the present embodiment, perpendicular to the plane of the page in FIG. 1).

The foundation 12 extends upward from the foundation stand 28 and passes between the feed roller 24 and the spike roller 20 while stretching across the two rollers 24, 20. The foundation 12 is additionally stretched between the spike rollers 20, 22. Here, the upper edge of the spike roller 20 and the lower edge of the spike roller 22 have been situated at approximately the same height, so that the foundation 12 stretched between the two spike rollers 20, 22 will be stretched out in the approximately horizontal direction. In this state of being stretched between the spike rollers 20, 22, the foundation 12 will be oriented with its surface 29 positioned to the lower side and its back face 31 positioned to the upper side (see FIG. 2). The foundation 12 subsequently extends upward from the spike roller 22 and passes between the spike roller 22 and the let-off roller 26 while stretching across the two rollers 22, 26.

As the feed roller 24 and the let-off roller 26 rotate in sync, the foundation 12 which has been wound onto the foundation stand 28 is reeled out and the foundation 12 situated between the two spike rollers 20, 22 is transported towards the spike roller 22. The foundation 12 which has been reeled out from the let-off roller 26 will be conveyed to the outside of the tufting machine 10.

The tufting mechanism 16 and the yarn feed mechanism 17 are disposed to the upper side of the foundation 12. The tufting mechanism 16 and the yarn feed mechanism 17 are depicted in FIG. 2. The tufting mechanism 16 is adapted to tuft the pile yarn 14 into the foundation 12 through vertical oscillating actuation of needles 30 provided as the needles, and includes a crank mechanism 34 adapted to produce oscillating actuation of the needles 30 and housed inside a head 32 of box shape. The crank mechanism 34 is composed of a needle rocker arm 38 fixedly mounted to a needle shaft 36 that extends parallel to the direction of extension of the spike rollers 20, 22 (the direction perpendicular to the plane of the page in FIG. 2), and a push rod 40 extending in the vertical direction, these components being linked by a connection link 42. At the lower end of the push rod 40 there is further disposed a needle bar 44 of prescribed width dimension extending parallel to a needle shaft 36, and at the lower end of the needle bar 44 a plurality of needles 30 which are provided as the needles have been arranged along the lengthwise direction of the needle bar 44 (the direction perpendicular to the plane of the page in FIG. 2) and project out toward the bottom. Rotational movement of the needle shaft 36 is converted to vertical oscillating movement of the push rod 40 so that the needles 30 alternately move closer to and away from the foundation 12 in the vertical direction. Thus, in the present embodiment the piercing direction of the needles 30 through the foundation 12 is coincident with the vertical direction, and the needles 30 have been situated so to as to punch towards the surface 29 from the back face 31 of the foundation 12.

Meanwhile, the yarn feed mechanism 17 is adapted to deliver the pile yarn 14 to the needles 30. The yarn feed mechanism 17 of the present embodiment is similar in design to that disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 63-203861 previously filed by the applicant, so only a brief description will be provided here.

In the upper part of the tufting machine 10 there is disposed an upper stand 46 that extends upward, and on this upper stand 46 a number of rolls 48 a, 48 b, 48 c, 48 d whose peripheral faces have been subjected for example to a surface roughening process have been lined up in the vertical direction so as to be rotatable about axes that extend in the same direction as the needle shaft 36 (the direction perpendicular to the plane of the page in FIG. 2). These rolls 48 a to 48 d have been designed to rotate at mutually different speeds.

A number of idle wheel units 50 a to 50 d are disposed facing the rolls 48 a to 48 d. Since the idle wheel units 50 a to 50 d are similar in construction to one another, the idle wheel unit 50 a will be described below by way of example.

FIG. 3 shows the idle wheel unit 50 a. The idle wheel unit 50 a has been constructed by providing an idle wheel 52 on the end at the roll 48 a side thereof, and at the end on the opposite side thereof providing a support post 58 that is linked to a shaft 56 of an air cylinder 54 and that is supported slidably in a direction towards/away from the roll 48 a (the left-right direction in FIG. 3) by a support member 60. The support post 58 is subjected to urging force away from the roll 48 a by a coil spring 62 externally fitting about the shaft 56, so that at times that air is not being supplied to the air cylinder 54 the idle wheel 52 will be positioned away from the roll 48 a. Through actuation of the air cylinder 54 through supply of air the support post 58 will be moved closer to the roll 48 a so that the idle wheel 52 is positioned contacting the roll 48 a.

Supply of air to the air cylinder 54 is accomplished by providing an electromagnetic valve group 64 corresponding to the individual air cylinders 54, and selectively operating electromagnetic valves of the electromagnetic valve group 64 on the basis of control signals issued by a pattern control unit 66 such as computer to which a predetermined pattern has been saved, a pattern drum that uses a phototube, or the like.

The pile yarn 14 is passed in the vertical direction between the rolls 48 a to 48 d and the idle wheel units 50 a to 50 d, and while being imparted with tension by tensioning rolls 68, 68 which have been attached to the head 32 will be guided by a plurality of yarn guides 70 disposed at appropriate locations on the head 32, and thence supplied to a needle 30 by being threaded through a needle hole 112 (see FIGS. 5A-5D) bored through the needle 30.

With the yarn feed mechanism 17 constructed in this way, when for example a signal issued by the pattern control unit 66 excites a particular electromagnetic valve of the electromagnetic valve group 64 so that air is supplied to the air cylinder 54 of the idle wheel unit 50 a, the air cylinder 54 of the idle wheel unit 50 a is actuated and will move the support post 58 closer to the roll 48 a. The idle wheel 52 will then come into contact against the roll 48 a so as to hold the pile yarn 14 between it and the roll 48 a while rotating in association with rotation of the roll 48 a. The pile yarn 14 will thereby be let off at a rate according to the rotation speed of the roll 48 a, and will be tufted into the foundation 12 to produce a pile length commensurate with this feed rate.

Meanwhile, when air is supplied by the pattern control unit 66 to the air cylinder 54 of the idle wheel unit 50 b, the supply of air to the air cylinder 54 of the idle wheel unit 50 a will halt and the idle wheel 52 will separate from the roll 48 a due to the urging force of the coil spring 62. The idle wheel 52 of the idle wheel unit 50 b will then move into contact against the roll 48 b so as to hold the pile yarn 14 between it and the roll 48 b, whereby the pile yarn 14 will be let off at a rate according to the rotation speed of the roll 48 b.

Here, because the rolls 48 a to 48 d have mutually different rotation speeds, the feed rate of the pile yarns 14 fed out by the individual rolls 48 a to 48 d will differ as well. As a result, the size of the pile that forms on the surface 29 of the foundation 12 can be controlled, making it possible to produce on the foundation 12 the pattern which has been preset in the pattern control unit 66.

Meanwhile, the pile mechanism 18 has been disposed on the opposite side of the foundation 12 from the tufting mechanism 16 and the yarn feed mechanism 17, that is, to the lower side of the foundation 12. The pile mechanism 18 is depicted in FIG. 4. In FIG. 4, the foundation 12 and the pile yarn 14 have been omitted from the illustration. The pile mechanism 18 is furnished with a looper shaft 72 that extends in the same direction as the spike roller 20 (the direction perpendicular to the plane of the page in FIG. 4). The lower end of a looper rocker arm 74 that extends upwardly in an arcuate shape has been fixedly linked to the looper shaft 72. A looper drive shaft 76 that extends parallel to the looper shaft 72 is disposed to the outer side of the upper end of the looper rocker arm 74. A rocker arm 78 has been fixedly attached to the looper drive shaft 76, and the rocker arm 78 is linked via a connecting link 80 to the upper end of the looper rocker arm 74, thereby constituting a linking mechanism.

A looper bar 82 that extends in the same direction as the needle bar 44 (the direction perpendicular to the plane of the page in FIG. 4) is provided at the upper end of the looper rocker arm 74, and a plurality of loopers 84 have been lined up along the direction of extension of the looper bar 82. Here, the loopers 84 have been provided in equal number to the needles 30 so as to correspond with the needles 30. The distal end of each looper 84, which is its free end, projects out towards the needle 30 from the looper bar 82, in other words, in the direction opposite the feed direction of the foundation 12 (from left to right in FIG. 4); and a protrusion 86 that protrudes downward has been provided at this projecting distal end. The distal end of the looper 84 is thereby given a hooked shape opening towards the bottom.

The looper shaft 72 and the looper drive shaft 76 have been designed to undergo oscillating rotation in sync with one another within a prescribed angular range, with oscillating rotation of the looper shaft 72 being communicated as slight up and down motion to the loopers 84 via the looper rocker arm 74 and the looper bar 80. Meanwhile, oscillating rotation of the looper drive shaft 76 is communicated as left-right motion to the loopers 84 via the rocker arm 78, the connecting link 80, the looper rocker arm 74, and the looper bar 80. These motions of the two shafts 72, 76 combine to produce movement of the loopers 84 along an elliptical track synchronous with up and down motion of the needles 30. In this way the loopers 84 perform a yarn takeup operation to capture the pile yarns 14 which have been punched through the foundation 12 by the needles 30.

A knife drive shaft 88 that extends parallel to the looper shaft 72 has been disposed somewhat above the looper shaft 72. A knife rocker arm 90 has been fixed to the knife drive shaft 88, and a knife bar 92 that extends in the same direction as the knife drive shaft 88 has been disposed at the upper end of this knife rocker arm 90.

A knife block 94 is disposed on the knife bar 92 at each of several locations that correspond to the loopers 84, and a knife 96 that extends in the approximately vertical direction has been mounted in the knife block 94. A cutting blade has been formed at the upper edge of each knife 96, and the knife 96 and the looper 84 are disposed their opposing faces contacting one another in the thickness direction (the direction perpendicular to the plane of the page in FIG. 4).

The knife drive shaft 88 has been designed to undergo oscillating rotation within a prescribed angular range, and this oscillating rotation of the knife drive shaft 88 is transmitted as up and down motion to the knives 96 via the knife rocker arm 90, the knife bar 92, and the knife blocks 94. This up and down motion of the knives 96 will cause the knives 96 to slide in the direction towards and away from the loopers 84 so as to carry out the yarn cutting operation in order to cut the pile yarns 14 that have been captured by the loopers 84.

Meanwhile, to the opposite side of the needles 30 from the loopers 84 and the knives 96 there has been arranged a bed 100 for supporting the finger plate 98. The bed 100 rises vertically upward, and has a construction that includes a bed frame 102 of plate shape extending in the same direction as the looper shaft 72 and the knife drive shaft 88 (the direction perpendicular to the plane of the page in FIG. 4); a bed plate 104 of plate shape situated at the upper end of the bed frame 102 and having length dimension approximately equal to that of the frame; and a hinge 106 provided as a rotational mechanism at one end of the bed plate. Additionally, the respective ends of an air cylinder 108 provided as a cylinder mechanism are linked between the face of the bed frame 102 on the needle 30 side thereof and the lower face of the end of the bed plate 104 on the needle 30 side thereof. Supply of air to the air cylinder 108 is carried out by providing an electromagnetic valve 109, and operating the electromagnetic valve 109 on the basis of a control signal issued by the pattern control unit 66 discussed earlier. The amount of rotation of the bed plate 104 with respect to the bed frame 102 is adjustable through the amount of extension/retraction of the air cylinder 108; in the present embodiment, the air cylinder 108 constitutes the rotation amount adjustment mechanism, and the displacing means for bringing about displacement of the finger plate 98 includes the hinge 106 and the air cylinder 108. Usually, a position in which the finger plate 98 extends in the horizontal direction will be the stationary position of the bed plate 104.

The finger plate 98 is attached at the upper face of the bed plate 104 in such a way that the surface 29 of the foundation 12 is supported by the upper face of the finger plate 98. The finger plate 98 has a shape resembling a comb in which a multitude of fingers 110 that project out towards the needles 30 have been formed separated by prescribed spacing slightly larger than the outside diameter of the needles 30, along the direction in which the needles 30 have been arrayed (the direction perpendicular to the plane of the page in FIG. 4), so that the needles 30 may pass through the gaps between adjacent fingers 110. By mounting this finger plate 98 onto the upper face of the bed plate 104, the finger plate 98 in the present embodiment will be rotatable about an axis of rotation defined by the hinge 106 which extends in the width direction of the foundation 12.

FIGS. 5A-5D show an operating mode of the tufting machine having such construction. First, as shown in FIG. 5A, with the finger plate 98 positioned at the stationary position and supporting the surface 29 of the foundation 12, the needle 30 having the pile yarn 14 threaded through its needle hole 112 will undergo displacement downward and pierce through the foundation 12 from its back face 31 to its surface 29. By so doing the pile yarn 14 will pierce and punch through the foundation 12. Here, during the time that the needle 30 is piercing the foundation 12, the finger plate 98 will be positioned at the stationary position supporting the foundation 12, thereby preventing the foundation 12 from flexing so that contact pressure is lost, so that the needle 30 can consistently be punched through the foundation 12.

In FIGS. 5A-5D, the foundation 12 and the finger plate 98 appear to be positioned in a non-contact state across a gap in the vertical direction; however, the finger plate 98 in the present embodiment is actually formed such that the heightwise position of its end on the opposite side from the needles 30 is slightly higher (see FIG. 4), and the foundation 12 is supported by the finger plate 98 in a region thereof situated to the opposite side from the needle 30 side (the region on the left side not depicted in FIGS. 5A-5D). Particularly during piercing of the foundation 12 by the needle 30, the foundation 12 will tend to become pushed downward due to pressing force and frictional force of the needle 30, but downward displacement of the foundation 12 at this time will be limited through contact against the distal end section of the finger plate 98 (the section to the needle 30 side depicted in FIGS. 5A-5D). Of course, the surface of the foundation 12 (the lower face in the drawings) may also be supported in a state of contact against the finger plate 98.

As shown in FIGS. 5A-5D, the distal end of the needle 30 which has pierced the foundation 12 will pass through a gap between the fingers 110 of the finger plate 98 and protrude further down below the bottom face of the finger plate 98.

The needle 30 will then experience displacement downward, and the looper 84 will be urged closer towards the needle 30. Then, with the needle 30 positioned at bottom dead center, the distal end section of the looper 84 will slide between the needle 30 and the pile yarn 14 which has been punched through by the needle 30, as depicted in FIG. 5B.

Next, as depicted in FIG. 5C, as the needle 30 is displaced upward from bottom dead center, the needle 30 will be pulled back towards the back face 31 from the surface 29 of the foundation 12. Here, the pile yarn 14 that has been punched through the needle 30 will be captured by the distal end section the looper 84 and maintained in a state protruding out from the surface 29 of the foundation 12, whereby the pile yarn 14 will be implanted in loop form and form a loop 114 at the surface 29 of the foundation 12 through the hole that was created in the foundation 12 by the needle 30.

The needle 30 is then uplifted, and through retracting operation of the air cylinder 108 on the basis of a control signal from the control unit 66 the head plate 104 will swivel downward centered on the hinge 106 so that the finger plate 98 swivels downward by a prescribed angle. This will permit downward flexure of the foundation 12 which was previously supported by the finger plate 98, whereupon the loop 114 will be released from the state of capture by the looper 84 through downward displacement, together with the foundation 12, of the loop 114 that was captured by the looper 84.

In order to release the state of capture by the looper 84, the finger plate 98 will swivel downward to an extent such that the loop 114 will not become caught on the protrusion 86 of the looper 84. In the present embodiment, the finger plate 98 swivels downward to the extent of relaxing support of the foundation 12 while still maintaining a state of contact against the surface 29 of the foundation 12 even in the downwardly swiveled position; however, it would instead be possible for example for it to undergo displacement to the extent of releasing support of the foundation 12, specifically, to undergo downward displacement to a greater extent than the flexure of which the foundation 12 is capable, and swivel to the point of complete separation from the surface 29 of the foundation 12.

Then, through downward displacement away from the needle 30 by the looper 84, the distal end portion of the looper 84 will be pulled out from the loop 114. A loop pile composed of the loop 114 is thereby formed on the surface 29 of the foundation 12.

Next, through an extension operation of the air cylinder 108 based on a control signal from the control unit 66, the bed plate 104 will again be brought to the horizontal state, returning the finger plate 98 to the stationary position.

Once the finger plate 98 has been returned to the stationary position in this way, the foundation 12 will be reeled out by a prescribed amount from the foundation stand 28 through rotation of the feed roller 24, the spike rollers 20, 22, and the let-off roller 26. Because the loop 114 that has been released from the captured state by the looper 84 will undergo upward displacement together with the foundation 12 due to the finger plate 98 being returned to the stationary position, there is reduced risk of it again becoming captured by the distal end of the looper 84 during movement of the foundation 12.

On the other hand, if extension/retraction operation of the air cylinder 104 is not carried out after the needle 30 has reached top dead center (FIG. 5C), the loop 114 will remain captured by the looper 84. The loop 114 captured by the looper 84 will then be guided towards the looper 84 in the direction away from the needle 30 through reeling out of the foundation 12, and will be cut by knife 96 to form cut pile.

Then, after the foundation 12 has been reeled out by a prescribed amount from the foundation stand 28, the needle 30 will begin to descend in the same manner as above. Next, after the loop 114 of the pile yarn 14 implanted in the foundation 12 has been captured by the looper 84, as described previously, either a loop pile will be produced in the event that the finger plate 98 descends, or a cut pile will be produced the event that the finger plate 98 stays positioned at the stationary position. By repeating the above operation, a mixture of numerous loop piles and cut piles will be formed on the surface 29 of the foundation 12.

The amount of downward displacement of the finger plate 98 may be adjusted so that in the steps depicted in FIGS. 5C and 5D, release and non-release of the loops 114 occur in non-methodical fashion. By so doing it will be possible to manufacture fabric having a mixture of loop pile and cut pile within a single area.

In FIGS. 5A-5D, only a single loop 112 has been shown in order to facilitate understanding; however in actual practice loop pile or cut pile will have been formed and will be present at appropriate intervals to the front side of the needle 30 pierced locations of the foundation 12 in the direction of advance of foundation 12 (the right side in FIGS. 5A-5D).

In particular, where leading up to the steps depicted in FIGS. 5C and 5D pile formation is carried out such that release and non-release of the loops 114 by the looper 84 occur in non-methodical fashion as described above, in a manner analogous to the ordinary loop pile formation step but with a plurality of loops (e.g. two to five) engaged on the looper 84, only the loop engaged furthest towards the back of the looper 84 (the right side in FIGS. 5A-5D) will be cut one at a time by the knife 96. Then, when the finger plate 98 undergoes downward displacement in FIG. 5D, only the loop engaged furthest forward on the looper 84 (the left side in FIGS. 5A-5D) will be released by the looper 84 and form a loop pile. Because loop pile, once released by the looper 84, will initially snap back towards the foundation 12 side owing to release of tension, the loop pile will not become re-caught on the looper 84.

In the present embodiment in particular, by providing the yarn feed mechanism 17 with a particular construction, it will be possible to individually adjust the pile yarn 14 feed rate for each needle 30. With such an arrangement, by reducing the feed rate of the pile yarn 14 to a needle 30, tension can be imparted to the pile yarn 14 even when the finger plate 98 has descended, so that the yarn is maintained in the captured state by the looper 84 to form a cut pile tuft. It will be possible thereby to produce cut pile exclusively at locations corresponding to a particular needle or needles 30 among the many needles 30, as well as to produce complex or arbitrary patterns by controlling the pile yarn 14 feed rate to each of the needles 30 according to a predetermined pattern. Moreover, through adjustment of the pile yarn 14 feed rate, the size of the pile can be adjusted as well.

In the tufting machine 10 constructed as above, through downward displacement of the finger plate 98 to release or relax support of the surface 29 of the foundation 12 by the finger plate 98, the foundation 12 will be allowed to undergo downward displacement. It will be possible thereby to adjust the tension applied to the pile yarn 14; and through downward displacement of the foundation 12 in the process of the pile yarn 14 being implanted in the foundation 12, to relax tension of the pile yarn 14 making release from capture by the looper 84 possible. It will be consequently possible to form a loop pile tuft from the pile yarn 14 that has been released from capture by the looper 84, and to manufacture pile fabric with a mixture of loop pile and cut pile.

The tufting machine 10 according to the present embodiment in particular can be realized through the simple measure of providing finger plate displacing means to a cut pile tufting machine of conventional design, whereby it will be possible to obtain a tufting machine capable of manufacturing pile fabric with a mixture of loop pile and cut pile, through a slight modification to the cut pile tufting machines used conventionally. In the tufting machine 10 according to the present embodiment, by positioning the finger plate 98 in the stationary position without downward displacement, tension can be applied to the pile yarn 14 to maintain it in the captured state by the looper 84, so that a pile fabric having cut pile exclusively can be manufactured in the conventional manner as well.

While the present invention has been shown herein through a detailed description of one of the preferred embodiments, this is merely exemplary and the invention should not be construed as limited to the specific disclosure of the embodiment.

For example, the displacing means for displacing the finger plate may be any adapted to release or relax support of the foundation by the finger plate; and direction of piercing of the foundation by the needle, which here is also the direction of displacement of the finger plate, is not limited to the rotating direction as described above. Accordingly, the bed plate 104 which supports the finger plate 98 in the preceding embodiment could instead be designed to undergo displacement vertically downwards by means of a rack and pinion mechanism or the like.

Moreover, while in the preceding embodiment there is provided a yarn feed mechanism 17 having a particular construction whereby it is possible to selectively form either cut pile or loop pile for each individual needle 30 through adjustment of the feed rate of pile yarn 14 to the needles 30, the yarn feed mechanism 17 is not limited to one having the particular construction described above, and it would be possible to employ a yarn feed device of conventional known design instead.

Furthermore, while in the preceding embodiment the finger plate 98 was a single member extending in the width direction of the foundation 12, it would be possible for example for the finger plate to instead have a split arrangement in the width direction of the foundation, with each of the split finger plates being provided with displacing means allowing them to undergo displacement independently. The upper face of a finger plate according to such a mode is depicted in model form in FIG. 6.

The finger plate of the present mode is composed of a plurality of finger plates 120 a to 120 j (in this case, ten) which have been split in the width direction of the foundation (the vertical direction in FIG. 6), with these finger plates 120 a to 120 j lined up across the width of the foundation to make up a finger plate that extends approximately all the way across the width of the foundation. Additionally, the finger plates 120 a to 120 j have been secured to the upper faces of bed plates 122 a to 122 j which have been split in the foundation width direction into equal number with the finger plates (in this case, ten), and the bed plates 122 a to 122 j have been swivelably linked by hinges 124 a to 124 j to a bed frame 102 (FIG. 4) comparable to that in the preceding embodiment. Air cylinders 126 a to 126 j have been disposed between the bed plates 122 a to 122 j and the bed frame 120, and these air cylinders 126 a to 126 j are capable of extending/retracting operation through operation of the electromagnetic valves of an electromagnetic valve group 128 corresponding respectively thereto, on the basis of control signals issued by a control unit 130. That is, by splitting the finger plate 98 and the bed plate 104 of the preceding embodiment into a plurality of elements in the width direction of the foundation, and providing the respective split bed plates 122 a to 122 j with hinges 124 a to 124 j and air cylinders 126 a to 126 j as displacing means, it will be possible for the finger plates in the present mode to independently undergo downward displacement.

With such an arrangement, through independent control of the air cylinders 126 a to 126 j to independently control downward displacement of the finger plates 120 a to 120 j, it will be possible to manufacture pile fabric having mixed cut pile and loop pile not just in the foundation feed direction, but across the width of the foundation as well. It is accordingly possible to produce cut pile and/or loop pile patterns on the diagonal across the foundation, and to produce more complex patterns.

In the preceding embodiment, the loopers 84 have been designed, through oscillating rotational motion about the looper shaft 72, to undergo oscillating displacement in the direction closer to and away from the needles 30 along a track describing an arc with a large curvature radius, or more specifically in the direction of insertion and withdrawal between adjacent needles 30 from the front side in the foundation 12 feed direction, 30; however, other modes of actuation and modes of displacement may be adopted in relation to the loopers 84. For example, the loopers 84 may be oriented parallel to the surface of the foundation 12 or inclined by a prescribed angle, so as to undergo oscillating displacement along a linear track in the direction closer to and away from the needles 30 from the front in the foundation 12 feed direction. As possible actuating means for use during realization of linear oscillating displacement there could be employed a link mechanism or rack and pinion mechanism for converting rotational motion comparable to that in the embodiment to linear motion, or a linear actuation source using a cylinder mechanism, solenoid mechanism, linear motor, or the like. 

1. A tufting machine in which a foundation fed in one direction by reel-out rollers is supported from a front side by a finger plate while a needle threaded with a pile yarn is punched through a foundation from a back side so that the pile yarn is punched through the foundation; using a looper whose free end faces opposite the feed direction of the foundation and adapted to undergo oscillating displacement alternately closer to and further away from the needle, the pile which has been punched through the foundation is captured to form a loop; and the loop which has been captured by the looper is then cut by a knife adapted to undergo relative displacement with respect to the looper, the tufting machine comprising: displacing means for displacing the finger plate in a piercing direction of the needle through the foundation; and the loop is releaseable from the captured state by the looper as the finger plate undergoes displacement by the displacing means to allow displacement thereof towards the front side of the foundation.
 2. The tufting machine according to claim 1, wherein the displacing means comprises a rotational mechanism enabling oscillating rotational displacement of the finger plate about a rotation axis extending in the width direction at the front side of the foundation, and a rotation amount adjustment mechanism adapted to adjust the amount of oscillating rotational displacement of the finger plate by the rotational mechanism.
 3. The tufting machine according to claim 2, wherein the rotational mechanism comprises a hinge mechanism and the rotation amount adjustment mechanism comprises a cylinder mechanism.
 4. The tufting machine according to claim 1, wherein the finger plate is split in a width direction of the foundation, with the split finger plates being individually furnished with the displacing means so that the individual finger plates independently undergo displacement in the piercing direction of the needle.
 5. The tufting machine according to claim 1 further comprising a yarn delivery apparatus that includes a plurality of rolls rotated at mutually different speeds, idle wheel units provided as a pair with the rolls and including an idle wheel adapted to alternately contact and separate from the roll while reeling out the pile yarn between the roll and the unit, and a control unit adapted to alternately move the idle wheel units closer to and away from the rolls. 